You reap what you sow
There have been several protests by farmers against the PML-N government’s agricultural policy during the last two years in Punjab. In June 2015 the farmers also protested in Islamabad where they spilt milk to draw public attention to their plight. The issues agitated by the agricultural community include the rising cost of production combined with the government’s failure to ensure a fair price for agricultural commodities. The tillers maintain that the GST on fertilisers, pesticides, agriculture machinery, diesel and other products has considerably pushed up production costs in agricultural sector. Power shortages combined with the rising prices of diesel have made agriculture uncompetitive particularly with the agricultural produce of Indian Punjab where farming sector is provided free power.
A combination of factors encouraged the PML-N lawmakers belonging to the farming community to take a firm stand on the issue in the National Assembly on Wednesday. With the opposition on the offensive the dissidents knew that the government needed their support badly at this juncture. What is more with election campaign having already begun the government can ill-afford to lose electables like them. The speakers concentrated their attack on one particular issue: the preferential treatment in government’s lending policy which favours the industrial sector as opposed to the agricultural sector. The industrialists, they maintained, get loans from banks at 6.5pc while the agriculturists are made to pay 14 to 16 percent. Denouncing his own Parliamentary Secretary, a PML-N lawmaker said “You treat us not just like rivals, but enemies.”
The agriculture sector contributes over 21pc to the country’s GDP and employs 45pc of the national labour force and yet fails to meet its targets. Agricultural growth has been moving in a narrow band of 1.8-3.5pc over the last decade. The government has been making all kinds of promises to placate the protesting farmers when they take to the streets without ever fulfilling them. With the agricultural lobby being assiduously courted by PTI and PPP, the government will find it hard to continue to ignore it.